Awkwardness to the Extreme
by krystal214
Summary: Someone is stealing Ron's Halloween candy and he is determined to prove it's the Twins. Unfortunately for the Weasleys, more is revealed than anyone expected when Ron sets a trap to catch the culprit. -"M" for safety, but I think "T" works. Implied "off-screen" lemons and bad language mostly. Written for the Twin Exchange's October Title Swap Challenge, so don't forget to vote!


A/N: Written for the Twin Exchange's October Title Swap Challenge as submitted by Lady Balacenia.

Summary: Someone is stealing Ron's Halloween candy and he is determined to prove it's the Twins. Unfortunately for the Weasleys, more is revealed than anyone expected when Ron sets a trap to catch the culprit.

**Awkwardness to the Extreme**

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"If you don't keep quiet then we're going to get caught for sure," Harry cautioned through gritted teeth, struggling again to adjust his leg despite his awkward position.

Crouched together inside a tiny closet, Harry and Ron found themselves haphazardly twisted around each other's limbs, tangled amidst an array of discontinued WWW products and gaudy magenta-colored robes. Taking refuge within the cramped space had been a hastily made decision on Harry's part, but the two wizards were left with little other option lest they be discovered snooping around the twins' flat.

Panicking as they heard a set of heavy footsteps coming up the staircase which connected to the joke shop, Harry immediately attempted to side-along Ron back to Grimmauld Place. However, as an ironic twist given Fred and George's propensity to apparate rather than walk even short distances, it appeared that the entire building was warded against disapparation. Harry had to imagine it had something to do with security, put in place as a theft deterrent in order to help capture anyone who was brazen enough to try to steal from the twins' store below.

Coming to the surprising realization that traveling via apparation wasn't going to work, Harry quickly scrambled for cover. Finding Ron too frozen with fear from their imminent discovery to move, listening as the twin's impending arrival was marked by footfalls having suddenly ceased at the top of the steps, Harry managed to pull his dazed friend inside the hall closet just as the flat's front door opened. Hatching a loose plan to make a mad dash for the Floo once the coast was clear, the wizards huddled together on the closet floor where they had landed. Wedged uncomfortably between the mess of wheezes and robes, they awaited an opportunity to sneak out the way they had arrived only a few minutes prior to their near capture.

Interrupted before they could find the evidence they'd come for, Ron bitterly droned under his breath that getting caught now would result in a very pointless, obligatory beating since he was going home empty-handed. Harry rolled his eyes in disbelief at the red-head's skewed priorities. Apparently Ron had yet to reach the same conclusion Harry had regarding the length of time they were sure to be trapped within their tiny, cramped prison cell. From the sound of things happening outside the closet door, it was going to be a long afternoon.

Only moments after the still unidentified twin had entered the flat, it had become glaringly obvious he was not alone. Feminine laughter and some deeper throaty chuckles had rapidly morphed into gasps and groans of pleasure resounding continuously from the living room area. Whatever afternoon rendezvous the two young wizards had accidentally stumbled upon, it was clear it was only just getting started.

Although Harry knew the consequences would be severe, he wasn't sure if getting caught could possibly be any worse than enduring another second of Ron's relentless whining over the whole predicament. Harry's envious imagination alone was becoming another form of torture entirely, taunted by the passionate encounter in the next room which had stirred some frustrated urges born out of months of loneliness with Ginny away at Hogwarts. His inadvertent reaction to the sounds of pleasure he was being forced to listen to was becoming more than a little disconcerting while pressed up against his best friend in the already too tiny space. Having long lost all feeling in his foot due to his ridiculously contorted position, the idea of running out in mock-surrender was starting to seem very enticing.

Despite the fact that the amorous ruckus happening outside the impromptu hideout was disguising some of the noise from within the closet, the raven-haired wizard was convinced Ron's endless list of grievances was going to inadvertently reveal their position long before they had come up with a plausible excuse for being there. Not even the pair of resident jokesters whose closet they were now hiding inside would have accepted the frivolous reason which prompted the covert mission in the first place.

Being mid-November, Ron's stash of Halloween candy had dwindled down substantially, making it possible to recognize that his once abundant supply had been systematically depleted of its various chocolate reserves. In honor of their first ever Voldemort-free Halloween, the twins, Harry, Hermione, and a few other Gryffindor alum had all charmed themselves to appear a more appropriate age to go Trick-or-Treating, having usually been at Hogwarts at this time of the year. Dressed in their costumes, they had gone door to door in the nearby muggle town. Collecting candy and enjoying the carefree atmosphere of the holiday in a way they never had been able to before, everyone had a fantastic time. At least that was what Ron thought until he noticed someone had been sneaking his sweets over the weeks that followed. Convinced he would find the proof that one or both of his twin brothers was guilty of the crime, he had wrangled a reluctant Harry into his scheme.

Silently pleading to Merlin and Morgana that his friend would stop his rowdy fidgeting, Harry was actually thankful that Ron's current grousing was being drowned out by an escalating chorus of moans despite the physical response it garnered from the increasingly flustered wizard. Truly regretting ever agreeing to this sneaky endeavor, Harry huffed resentfully in Ron's direction as the female in the neighboring room squealed in delight under the skilled ministrations of whichever twin had been lucky enough to convince the boisterous witch to come up to their flat.

"I'm so sorry you're sooo uncomfortable, Harry," Ron stated indignantly, somehow managing to wiggle his legs further apart, subsequently forcing Harry's knees against his chest. "Shove over a little, would ya? I really don't enjoy your foot taking up residence in my arse."

"And where exactly would you have me shove over to, Ron?" Harry wheezed, shifting as best he could with a pointy corner of a box already poking painfully into his ribs. "We wouldn't even be in this situation if you hadn't gotten so worked up over a few missing sweets. For Merlin's sake, I'd rather buy you a lifetime supply of Chocolate Frogs and have avoided my foot going anywhere near your arse."

Ron shook his head emphatically, adamant about his stance on the proper protocol for sharing his things. "If the slimy weasels would just ask then I'd consider giving them some of my Halloween candy, but this madness has to stop, Harry. They shouldn't steal from their own brother."

"Why do you think it's the Twins anyway?" Harry inquired, wondering why he hadn't asked earlier. It wasn't that he didn't trust Ron's judgment, but it was difficult not to question his conspiracy theory with a more discriminating eye now that Harry found himself trapped in a closet with no end in sight.

"I don't think it's them. I _know_ it's them," Ron whispered. "First of all, it wouldn't be the first time they took all the good chocolates from my candy stash. In fact, it's practically tradition now. And no one else would have the nerve to go into my room and take my stuff besides those two anyway."

Seeing Harry wasn't commiserating, Ron explained with the heels of his hands pressed to his forehead in frustration, "Besides all that, they're nothing but trouble lately. I swear, ever since Fred fully recovered from the battle those two have been trying to make up for the lost time we spent prank-less during the war. Last week they put a sticking charm on me while I was in the loo at the Burrow… I couldn't take my hand off of my _broomstick_ for hours. It was awful, mate."

"I'd bet," Harry quipped, turning his head away to hide his expression from his irate friend.

"Don't laugh, Harry," Ron grumbled, remembering to drop his voice down a bit as he continued explaining, "I had Lavender waiting for me out in the living room before our date. It wasn't at all funny telling her we weren't able to go to the Leaky because I couldn't take my hand off of myself for five bloody minutes." Ron grimaced before turning to Harry with a mischievous grin. "We just need to figure out how best to get some revenge. If not for my embarrassment then at least for my chocolate. I'd been saving that, you know?"

"Yes, I know," Harry said, exasperated. He must have heard the same "I was saving that" speech three times already. "And just so you know, _we_ will not be avenging your missing candy. I don't mind helping you with a little reconnaissance, but there is no way I am getting involved in a prank war with two devious wizards with unlimited access to some truly sinister pranks of their own design. I'd rather confess my undying love for Malfoy than provoke the wrath of those two."

"Come on, Harry," Ron whispered with a conspiratorial smirk, "Live a little, would ya'?"

"That's the thing, mate," Harry said, his pause conveying the weight of his conviction. "I'd rather live the rest of my life without worrying my hand is going to get stuck to various parts of me body whenever I use the loo." Temporarily pacified by the conversation, Harry was about to point out the fact they were committing a similar crime by sneaking into the twins' flat when the cries of "Merlin yes!" and "Don't stop!" coming from the living room began increasing in frequency and volume.

Harry blushed, thankful his reaction was obscured slightly in the dim light. Only a faint strip of sunlight seeping in from underneath the door made it possible to see anything, highlighting Ron's leg twitching nervously. The sultry sounds emanating from just beyond the door had begun to reach a fever pitch. Harry tried not to notice that both he and Ron had to make some rather obvious adjustments to the position of their legs, pants suddenly becoming more uncomfortable in the aftermath of the woman's mostly incoherent moans of praise for her partner.

"This is getting a bit awkward now, mate," Harry said with a sigh, pointlessly shifting in his seat. "And this time that has nothing to do with my foot occupying a place it shouldn't."

"What do you reckon he's doing to her anyway?" Ron asked with blatant tension in his voice, hearing the heavy-breathing in the next room quieting some. The two inquisitive wizards instantly pressed their ears to the door, unsure of what caused the sudden silence. Although Harry wasn't certain what exactly he was trying to hear, knowing they could be seconds from being caught given Ron's booming voice and the couple's close proximity, both eavesdroppers startled at the sound of two sets of feet headed in their direction.

Harry inhaled sharply, mentally preparing himself for the awkwardness of being discovered half-aroused and locked in a closet with his closest mate while listening to an old friend vigorously shagging some mystery girl. He could already hear the mockery over this event. It was sure to be brutal and unrelenting. Visibly entertaining much of the same thoughts, Ron looked shaken as the two sets of feet drew closer, damning the eavesdropping wizards to a terrible fate for years to come.

Stifling a whimper of relief when the door was not thrown open as they had expected, Harry watched in gratitude to any deity who had answered his prayers as the shadows cast against the wooden floor beneath the door revealed that whoever was involved in this clandestine affair had moved on to the bathroom together. Picking up practically right where they left off once inside, two muffled voices could be faintly heard from the next room before the sound of running water in the shower drowned them out completely. Feeling confident they could make their escape now, Harry and Ron shook free of their stiff positions before carefully opening the door and stumbling towards the Floo.

"Glad the bird seems to have survived. Thought he was killing her for a moment there," Ron added as the moaning began anew. Both wizards stopped to listen again for just a moment when they reached the hearth, the breathy calls of "Oh Fred!" confirming the identity of the obviously sexually-adept twin. With the mystery solved, unsure if that knowledge made things more or less uncomfortable given the intimacy the snooping wizards had been privy to while listening from the closet, Harry shook his head to clear it of any residual thoughts about what was now going on in the shower.

"Let's get out of here while we still can," Harry whispered with a worried urgency coloring his tone. Grabbing the sleeve of Ron's sweater, Harry pulled the red-head towards their only escape route, noticing his obstinate friend's hesitation. "Awkward wouldn't even begin to describe it if they were to come back out here all wet and naked only to find us listening in like a couple of perverts."

"Yeah, alright," Ron said almost reluctantly before grabbing a few products that were clearly still in their testing stages off of the mantle. Watching as Ron jammed the pilfered items into his pockets before reaching out to take some Floo powder from the pot, Harry looked at him questioningly. Stepping into the fireplace first, Ron pointedly answered the unspoken accusation with a biting tone, "Don't look at me like that. It's for all my trouble? They need to learn there are consequences for not leaving other people's stuff alone."

Harry shook his head at the irony of Ron stealing from the twins while they were on a mission to prove the jokesters were the thieves. One more glance at his best friend's smug expression as he called out "Grimmauld Place" in a hushed tone, Harry couldn't help but make the mental note to never again blindly follow Ron into action if sweets were involved. It seemed anything with sugar made Ron Weasley an impetuous, unreasonable fool.

o….~oOoOoOo~…o

"Did you do it then?" Harry asked Ron quietly as the twins made their grand entrance through the Burrow's Floo for one of Molly's famous Sunday dinners. They each hugged their mother tightly between them, kissing her soundly with one twin on either cheek before making a show of simultaneously saluting their father. It didn't take long after that for one of the twins, the one wearing burgundy, to disappear while the other wearing a pale blue shirt moved to torment the girl sitting on the couch who had completely ignored their antics in favor of reading.

With a plop as he jumped on the couch beside her, mussing her hair and squeezing her cheeks a bit too hard, Hermione glared at the eager Weasley twin with something akin to a wry smile at the greeting she received. "Hello, Fred," she said with a smirk, confirming the identity of the prankster next to her. Harry, who had no idea which twin was which prior to her declaration, watched as Fred feigned his intentions to apologize for his behavior even though Hermione seemed to think better of the gesture. From across the room, Harry looked on curiously as his female best friend swatted at the jokester, noting the strange way Hermione's eyes lingered on Fred as she pushed his hands away.

"Yeah," Ron said quietly from his seat beside Harry, oblivious to anything other than the plot afoot, "I put that spell we discussed on my candy stash a few minutes ago. They won't be able to deny they are thieving bastards if I catch them with their hands glowing green. I'll wait for them to take the bait, cast the spell, and then start making their excuses."

Nodding his approval since it meant he wouldn't get caught up in the twins' retribution for Ron's method of theft detection, Harry agreed whole-heartedly, "Getting caught red-handed is difficult to argue with."

"No, mate, not red," Ron replied loudly, correcting his voice to better reflect the secretive nature of their conversation considering Fred was still engaged in a heated debate with Hermione on the opposite couch. "The spell makes anything that comes in contact with my charmed candy glow bright green as soon as I use the reveal spell."

"No, that's not what I meant by… it's a muggle saying - red-handed," Harry clarified, registering the blank look on Ron's face to mean that the explanation was futile. "Never mind."

Ron shrugged and added with renewed excitement, "And this way I can see if they've been touching anything else in my room too since the green glow will linger on whatever they touch afterwards."

There should have been something that foreshadowed what would happen next hidden in that statement somewhere, something which would have made Harry insist his friend call off the whole plan after seeing the malicious grin plastered on Ron's face. But those thoughts had clearly not been enough to dissuade the boy-who-lived from trusting his historically uncanny sense of intuition and putting a stop to Ron's trap before it got out of hand. If he had then everyone in the house that evening might have been spared, able to remain in blissful ignorance of some startling realities that were about to be revealed.

It had taken an hour after dinner for Ron's anticipation to overwhelm him. Everyone had already dispersed about the Burrow, enjoying their full bellies in whatever comfort they preferred. In Ginny's absence Harry found himself playing a game of Wizard's Chess with Ron in the living room, having lost sight of everyone else as they flitted about the house doing who knows what.

"Ready to check the trap?" Ron asked as he moved his Queen and captured Harry's Knight. Without waiting for Harry's affirmative response before getting up, Ron made it clear just how important this whole plan had become to the fired-up red-head. In all the years he had known him, Harry had never seen Ron leave a board mid-game as if it was nothing.

"Alright, let's see if anything is missing first and then we'll find the twins," Harry said resolutely, trailing behind Ron as they hastily made their way upstairs. Making a quick stop in their shared bedroom to confirm that more of his precious candy supply had been pilfered, Ron looked incensed while stomping to the twins' old room with Harry in tow. Seething at what he'd discovered had been taken, muttering about hexing both twins until next Halloween as a penalty for their audacity to steal his best chocolate truffles, Harry decided this had been the angriest he'd ever witnessed his usually temper-driven best mate.

Standing outside the door to the twins' former bedroom, the livid-looking red-head muttered a quiet incantation before shushing Harry with a single finger pressed to his lips which had already curled at the corners into a maniacal smirk. "Aha!" Ron yelled as he dramatically kicked open the door, surprising George who appeared to be napping on his old bed inside the otherwise empty room.

"Aha? What kind of greeting is that for a brother?" the sleepy-eyed twin asked, stretching out with a small smile on his face as he sat up and straightened his burgundy shirt. "What exactly were you expecting to catch me doing in here, baby brother?" he asked suspiciously, trying to look as innocent as one of the infamous jokesters ever could. "Don't tell me you thought I'd be doing something scandalous? A wank in my old room for the sake of nostalgia perhaps?" George cajoled, chuckling as Ron began to blush at the accusation.

Sputtering uncontrollably, Ron was understandably trying to decide how he'd missed the mark so severely since George had no green visible anywhere on his skin. Not one to miss an opportunity to torment his younger brother in a moment of discomfort, however, George continued his unabashed teasing, "Think I should tell Mum you've turned deviant on us, trying to ambush your unsuspecting family members to satisfy your insatiable voyeurism fetish?" With a cocked eyebrow, seeing Harry standing behind his now flush-faced brother, George added with a tsk, "And you've dragged your best mate down into your web of debauchery. For shame, Ronnie. What will Ginny say when she finds out?"

"I'm just here for moral support," Harry chimed in quickly as Ron started to regain his senses, emphatically shaking his head.

"Where is Fred?" Ron asked with renewed venom in his glare, undoubtedly figuring the twin whose whereabouts were currently unknown was the decidedly guilty party.

"Not sure where my other half has gone. I was sleeping rather soundly before you burst through the door shouting. Who knows what trouble Freddie might have gotten into all by his _lonesome_," George chided playfully. The underlying knowing tone in his voice had struck Harry as odd even though Ron didn't seem to notice it.

"Well, I'll go find him then. And when I do you'll both have to admit what you've been up to," Ron said before pushing past Harry and disappearing down the steps to check the kitchen for Fred. It was a logical first thought considering all of the Weasleys seemed to have insatiable appetites, the kitchen being a favorite congregation spot even after one of Molly's huge Sunday night meals.

With Harry and George now following behind him, the latter a little too eager for his angry younger brother to find his missing twin, the three of them could see a blue and red blur move past the window overlooking the porch just as the trio reached the bottom step. The moment Fred stepped inside the house Ron was already in his face, angry and shouting, "Aha!"

"Again with the 'Aha'? Think he'd be more creative on the second try," George said in Harry's ear before they both snickered behind Ron's back. Although George didn't seem to understand why his twin was glowing in certain places, streaks of green smeared on his face, neck, and all over the fabric of his shirt and the front of his pants, having watched Ron's odd behavior the quick-witted wizard seemed to be putting the particulars together.

"I knew it!" Ron yelled with his wand drawn, stepping closer to Fred who had backed up into the kitchen counter after being confronted so unexpectedly in the middle of the kitchen. "Just admit it, Fred. It's the least you can do. I've known you were guilty for a while now."

Fred, taken aback by Ron's hostility, gave a solemn nod. "Yes, I admit it. I'm sure you won't believe me all things considered, but I actually am very sorry if we hurt you, Ron. I just… well, to be perfectly honest I didn't think you'd be quite this upset. It didn't really seem like you were interested anyway." Harry was instantly suspicious of the implications in Fred's tone, not having heard him sound quite so serious since Arthur had been critically injured by Nagini years prior.

"Wasn't interested? How could you think I wasn't interested? Is that why I kept my favorite piece locked away in my room all this time? I was saving that. If I had wanted to share don't you think Harry or even Ginny deserved some before you got any?"

"Got any? Ginny? Saving your favorite piece?" Fred asked skeptically, looking almost torn on whether the comment should have made him angry for some reason. "I don't think we are… No, we couldn't possibly be talking about the same thing." Fred paused, looking at Harry and George over Ron's shoulder for some insight into the situation but finding none. Turning an icy glare towards his youngest brother, Fred stood up straighter, his voice changing intensely from his previously contrite tone, "In fact, you better hope we aren't talking about the same thing because if we are then I think the person doing the yelling is about to be me."

Now it was Ron's turn to look confused at his brother's comments, glancing at his best friend with a dumbfounded expression. Harry was just about to throw his arms up in defeat and ask everyone –someone – to explain just what was going on when he felt a single finger repeatedly tapping him on the shoulder in an effort to get his immediate attention. George extended his hand towards the window as Harry looked his way, gesturing to a figure moving on the porch, a mountain of curly hair coming into view just as every eye in the kitchen registered the movement outside.

"This is going to be so good," George whispered in Harry's ear just as Hermione entered the kitchen, stained with guilty green all over her mouth, face, and neck. She even had two unmistakable sets of identical handprints over her breasts, shining brilliantly through the yellow fabric of her shirt from the bare skin beneath. The sight was too remarkable not to halt the previously hostile conversation, capturing everyone's full attention with disbelief clearly written on Harry and Ron's faces while they gawked at the female member of their trio.

Fred seemed to find some revelation amidst the situation after seeing Hermione's bright green lips. Stepping closer to her as if to shield her from the view of everyone else in the room, oblivious to the state of her appearance, Hermione asked innocently, "What's going on in here? I could hear you and Ron yelling from outside?" Looking at Fred, she asked bluntly, a crooked smile on her face, "What did you do to yourself, Fred? You're glowing all over. Prank gone bad?"

Chuckling at Hermione's humorous reaction to his appearance, knowing she didn't realize what had happened to him had affected her as well, Fred retorted quickly, "I would agree that it was some sort of prank gone bad, but certainly not one of mine." He then glared at Ron who didn't seem to have enough sense to stop glowering at his unsuspecting female friend's lips, staring incredulously at his former almost-girlfriend like she had decided to become the first muggle-born Death Eater.

"'Mione?!" Ron exclaimed the moment Fred stepped closer to the unwitting girl, the smears on their clothing lined up enough with their current proximity that Ron finally noticed the symmetry for himself. "Why are you both…? I don't believe this, you and Fred?" he asked, his voice mounting with fury as he continued, "That means you're the girl Harry and I heard moaning and screaming Fred's name the other day." Ron looked disgusted, taking several steps back to view the pair with even more disdain.

"What do you mean you heard me? When? Where?" Hermione questioned, on the offensive now. Regarding Harry, her angry eyes demanded an explanation from him since it was obvious she wasn't going to get anything coherent from Ron who was busy muttering a string of profanities under his breath.

"Don't drag me into this mess, please. I just…" Harry said apologetically, looking around the room at the faces of his friends. Taking a deep breath and a seat at the table, he offered what little explanation he could, "I'm really sorry, 'Mione. It was honestly an accident. We hadn't meant to overhear you guys. We were only there to investigate Ron's missing candy."

Recovering quickly after hearing Harry's softly spoken words of regret, Ron looked vehement once again as he turned to Hermione. "Forget the fact you've obviously been snogging my brother for a moment, 'Mione, I cannot believe you're the one that's been stealing my candy all this time too," Ron said with a sneer, puffing his chest out, much to George's entertainment as the mirth-filled twin cackled with laughter and fell into the chair at the table beside the repentant, embarrassed savior of the wizarding world. Harry pinched the bridge of his nose as he took in the tense room, unsure which Ron was more bothered by at this point: Hermione and his brother, or Hermione and his chocolate.

"Candy?" the humiliated girl returned after a moment, confused by the accusation. "I haven't stolen any candy from you, Ronald! Earlier tonight I got a chocolate truffle from your…"

"What is all the yelling about down here?" Molly asked with cheeks tinged pink as she breathlessly came running to the kitchen from her room upstairs, her plum-colored robes flowing behind her in a billowing train.

The moment she entered the kitchen Ron squeaked in surprise, pointing at his mother's face, seeing the evidence of her involvement in his candy theft clearly proclaimed by her bright green lips. Unable to say anything due to what he considered a horrible betrayal, Ron simply stood there with bulging eyes and no words to convey the severity of the situation and the fact he had inadvertently outed his own mother as the candy thief.

"For some reason," Hermione said as she pointedly glared at her shocked friend, temporarily ignoring Molly's glowing mouth, "Ronald thinks I stole his candy. He even set a trap to catch the culprit, and vicariously found out… well, Molly, I…" Hermione said, suddenly nervous and looking at her feet as if to check they weren't nailed to the floor before she bolted from the room.

Fred took another step closer, moving to stand behind Hermione for extra support. He placed a large hand complete with bright green fingers squarely on Hermione's shoulder, squeezing gently and urging the bookworm to let him help. She glanced at him and took a deep breath, finally finding the nerve to look at the Weasley matriarch. For her part, Molly looked torn between angry at being misled and overjoyed at the prospect of the pair dating, made obvious by their coy behavior.

"Hermione and I have been together since I got home from St. Mungo's, Mum," Fred interjected smoothly. "We were waiting to say anything so it didn't get awkward if we decided things wouldn't work out between us. But… and speaking only for me, I'm okay with everyone knowing now." Hermione smiled at the implications of that statement, blushing and nodding her agreement as two sets of green lips connected chastely due to their current mixed company. Fred looked deeply into Hermione's eyes as he pulled away, the longing obliterating any reservation Harry might have had in the pairing. Brushing the pad of his bright green thumb across her cheek, incidentally smearing more of Ron's guilty green coloring along the edge of Hermione's jaw, Fred looked back at his mother for her approval.

Ecstatic as she looked at them, their adoration of each other evident in the loving look in their eyes, Molly cheered. "Wonderful! That's just so wonderful! I couldn't be more thrilled actually. Can't say I'm happy about finding out this way though, startled at such a late hour by my boys fighting in the kitchen, but… wait, so why exactly are you both glowing green? I'm not sure I understand."

"Apparently anyone who has touched a piece of candy from Ron's stash got affected by the glowing green charm he'd set on it. Evidently it transfers to anything they've touched," Hermione explained the last part quietly, glancing at her hands and over her shoulder at Fred's illuminated face, neck, and chest. Thankfully her body was covering the unmistakable handprints on his upper thighs and zipper of his trousers or Molly may have reacted differently. Nevertheless, the evidence was impossible to ignore, making it quite clear to everyone in the room, including Molly, what Hermione and Fred had just been doing before Ron's trick proclaimed them a couple.

"Oh dear," Molly said suddenly, as if realizing something of great significance that was much more important than what was happening in the kitchen.

Backing away from her children with fear in her eyes, Molly's cheeks bloomed scarlet as she glanced up the staircase at the sound of heavy footfalls coming down the Burrow's creaky steps. "Everything okay, Molly dear?" Arthur asked as he entered the kitchen, unaware of the stares he was receiving.

No one replied, frozen at the sight of Arthur Weasley standing in the middle of his assembled family, oblivious as to what had just transpired. The fact that the crotch of Arthur's pants was shining from somewhere just below the fabric was lost on no one. Creating an odd Christmas-y effect on Molly's face, her ruby red cheeks contrasting harshly with the bright green glow of her guilty lips as all eyes were fixated on the married couple. Several disgusted groans and squeaks of discomfort were Arthur's only reply while Ron, the least observant Weasley, slowly pieced together the implications of his parents' appearance and began a coughing fit, leaving him purple and almost asphyxiated.

"Now _that_ is awkward… to the extreme," Harry chuckled to George, silently laughing at the notorious prankster's mortified, slack-jawed expression. Knowing the twins wouldn't be the only ones who would likely seek revenge on Ron for this stunt, Harry was thankful he hadn't been too complicit in his best friend's actions. Pranking Fred and George was one thing. Dealing with an angry Molly was another level of frightening entirely.

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**A/N:** Please vote if you liked it. I enjoyed the process of writing in the title swap so much and I'd love to see what you all thought. It's my first time doing something like this so I'm a little nervous.

I don't make money from these characters or concepts, but will happily accept reviews as compensation. :)


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